Perfection
by smileywiley
Summary: I've been captivated by Katniss Everdeen since I was five years old and heard her sing the valley song. Now I'm seventeen and the enthralling quality about her still hasn't gone away, will she ever realize that she's perfect for me? Oneshot!


**Hey y'all! I haven't been on FanFiction in a while, as a writer anyway. I love to read and review other's stories, if you have a story you want me to check out, I totally will! Just PM me or review or something and I'll go check it out. I previously wrote mainly High School Musical stuff, but I've recently expanded into reading Hunger Games stuff. I also like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. Anyways, I'm starting back with a little Hunger Games thingy. Hopefully it'll be short and sweet, I haven't tried angsty in a while, but I hope to soon! Hahahah.**

Sorry about the longbutt authors note, without further ado…. 

**(Peeta's POV)**

Confident. Strong. Independent. Fierce.

Caring. Compassionate. Kind. Loving.

Beautiful. Gorgeous. Enthralling. Dazzling.

That's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to describing Katniss Everdeen. I've been captivated by her since I was 5 years old and she raised her hand to sing. I've been a puddle of goo around her ever since. She's my best friend; I don't know what I would do without her. I'm not sure if she's noticed the lingering hugs, the grasping of her hands; if she has she hasn't said anything. She's so naïve about the natural beauty she has; she doesn't understand how any man would want her which is absolute bullshit. She's perfect.

Now I only have to figure out how to tell her how perfect she actually is. She always tells me I'm such a charmer, and have a way with words, but now my mind is drawing blank. I have no words. Talking to complete strangers? Now that I can do, but there's just something about her that's so enthralling and hypnotic. She's a drug I can't get enough of. I can only hope she's as addicted as I am.

"Peeta?"

Shoot, that's her. She's early; I was hoping I would have some more time to figure out what to say to her.

"I brought you some game from my hunt with Gale. I'm gonna put it in the fridge."

The Three Musketeers. Katniss, Gale, and I. We do almost everything together. Gale knows how I feel about Katniss, and is perfectly fine with it, ever since I told him he's been making snide remarks about Katniss and I eventually becoming a couple. We just laugh and change the subject. Gale has actually had his eye on a certain politician's daughter for quite some time. He had mentioned actually asking her out the other day…

"Gale and Madge got together, Peet! Isn't that great?!"

Gale and I had an agreement, if he could grow the balls to ask out the Mayor's daughter, I had to confess my feelings to Katniss. Gale held up his end of the bargain, now it's my turn.

"Peeta? You there?"

Oops, I haven't responded to anything she's said.

"Yeah, Kat. I'll be down in a minute."

"Oh, and I've got some new herbs for you. Prim found a new patch of rosemary somewhere and she wanted me to give some to you. Something about how they would enhance the flavor of the cheesy buns."

I was slightly out of breath as I came down the stairs. I must be really whipped; even when she's in her hunting clothes she still takes my breath away. I'm a goner, and I need to tell her before we meet up with Gale in the woods.

"Well, Peet, what're you waiting for? Let's get going, don't wanna be late to meet Gale."

What she doesn't know is that we're going to be late anyway. Gale will know why. Except I have no speech prepared, nothing. I'm just gonna have to wing it and hope I don't stick my foot in my mouth.

We begin our walk towards the woods as she talks animatedly about something that Prim did. The love and devotion she has for her sister exudes from her. Katniss would do anything for Prim and the whole district knows it, Katniss' family isn't exactly well off but they make do. Katniss does what she has to do to make sure that Prim and her mom are fed and they get by. My father and Mrs. Everdeen are very close; they went to school together and such. My father once had romantic feelings towards Katniss' mother. I'm lost in thought as we pass by the school.

The school. That's it. That's where I can tell her. It's only fitting, that's where it all began.

"Katniss. Wait a sec."

"Peeta, we have to keep going. Gale is going to wonder where we are."

"Gale can sit there and be giddy about Madge for five minutes. I want—no, I need to talk to you about something."

She looks concerned, and takes a deep breath. She lets out a light "okay" and stands there anticipating what I have to tell her.

It's now or never.

"You know, this is the first memory I have of you. We had just started school, and we were in music class. The teacher asked if anyone knew the valley song. You raised your hand and sang the song and put the mockingjays to shame."

She looked embarrassed.

"And I knew then that I was a goner. I wanted to be a part of your life, if you'd let me. And you did. I was so happy that I thought my heart was going to burst the day you called me your best friend. I've had the utmost privilege to walk beside you and observe your grace and dignity in life thus far."

"Peeta…I-I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything yet. Just listen. Katniss, I love your confidence, I love your strength, I love how you don't want to be dependent on anyone, and I love how caring you actually are underneath your macho woman façade." I stopped to take a breath; I still haven't gotten the courage to look at Katniss yet. "I love your devotion to anyone you love and care about, I love how you don't realize how terrifyingly beautiful you are, I'm in love with you, Katniss. And I'm not saying you have to be in love with me too, you just deserve to know that someone's unconditionally in love with you."

I looked up at Katniss, who doesn't look like she's taken a breath the entire time I've been talking.

"Katniss, breathe."

She looks up at me and is shell shocked. She's scared.

"Peeta, we need to go meet Gale. Let's go."

Well, that went well.

We made it to our little spot in the woods and Gale is chattering away about random stuff that none of us care about. Katniss looks deep in thought and isn't contributing anything to the conversation. Gale asked if I would go check snares with him. Usually him and Katniss are the ones to do that, but I know he asked me so he could figure out what the hell was going on with her.

"What the hell happened to Kat, Peet?"

Here we go.

"Well, Gale. You asked Madge out and I had to hold up my end of the bargain. I told Kat how I felt about her."

"Oh."

Yeah, Gale. 'Oh' is a whole lot of bird shit when it comes to help.

"It didn't go well…?"

"No, Gale, it didn't. She had absolutely no idea I felt that way, and then I just went and ruined everything."

"Peet, the ball is in her court now. She'll let you know. You did the right thing in telling her, either you'll get an amazing girl out of it and y'all can double date with Madge and I, or you'll be able to move on and find someone."

I sighed dejectedly. To be completely honest, I don't think I would ever be able to move on from someone like Katniss. Katniss is one of those people you can't help but give a little bit of your heart to them. Except I've given her my whole heart. She has the power to destroy me. And even though I furiously hope she doesn't destroy me, I'll understand if she does. She deserves so much better than me.

"I think I'm gonna head home, Gale. Try to give the mind a rest. Give Katniss my best."

Gale waved at me as I took off. I took a roundabout way back to the hole in the fence just so I wouldn't have to awkwardly say bye to Katniss. She doesn't even realize what she does to me. I can't imagine a day passing without hearing her laugh, or seeing her smile. She's gone through so much.

I made awkward conversation with Mrs. Everdeen on my way home, she asked where Katniss was and I had to make up a story about how her and Gale were still hunting in the woods. Which could partially be true, that's what they do the majority of the time that they're together.

It seemed like every store I passed had some memory of Katniss embedded in it. The Cartwright's shoe store is where Katniss and I cried because we laughed so hard. Katniss was picking out an outfit for the school's formal and Gale had the bright idea for her to wear heels with her dress. Oh golly, Katniss in heels was a sight. That girl can climb every tree in the district, but when it came to walking in a pair of pumps, she was a lost cause. We laughed so hard that our bellies ached. The Hob is host to a multitude of memories to look back and laugh on; all the random conversations with Greasy Sae are always good to drag a smile out of Katniss on her darkest days. The Seam is an emotional spot; Katniss and I were playing through the streets when we found out about her father's death. That was the day I saw her crumble. Katniss is one of the strongest women I know, and she had to instantly grow up that day, Gale too. For a while I felt really guilty that I still had my father and theirs had vanished, but they came to see my father as their own and we all banded together that winter. Our biggest concerns were keeping Posy and Prim healthy. I don't think I have ever snuck more treats out of the bakery than I did that winter.

They've also done so much for me; Mrs. Hawthorne and Mrs. Everdeen have accepted me as one of their own after my mother died several winters ago. It was during winter break, Rye, my older brother, and I were getting restless. The bakery had just closed for the day and Mother was beginning to work on special orders that were due in a few days. Rye and I were running around the house and accidentally bumped into the cake stand, and everything toppled. We froze; Rye and I had no idea what to do. I knew my mother was livid, but she just walked out of the house. She was gone all night, and when we went looking for her the next morning, my father found her dead. That was a hard Christmas.

I finally made it home from the woods. My father had some prep work for me to finish up before the next day. The bakery was my home, literally and figuratively, the delight on one's face while they're enjoying a danish or a tart is enough for my family to continue what we do. I finished the prep work and went to head up to my studio to work on a painting of Gale, Katniss, and I. Gale is getting ready to graduate at the end of the year and hasn't decided whether or not he's heading for the mines or college. His mother desperately wants him to go to college; it's much safer than the mines in 12. As I was walking from the kitchen to the stairs I heard a knock on the back door. I instantly hoped it was Katniss, but knew otherwise. Katniss and Gale just barge on in; it's one of the perks of being considered family around here. I opened the door, fully expecting Mr. or Mrs. Cartwright with our annual winter shoes in tow, but it was Katniss.

Well, shit.

My gentleman-ly skills began to kick in and I invited her in and went to go sit down. Katniss just started pacing a hole in my floor. I waited for about 10 minutes for her to start the conversation, but she didn't. And if I didn't say anything, she seriously was going to fall into my basement.

"Kat…did you want to talk about something?"

It wasn't the most suave line in the book, but it got her to stop pacing. She cautiously walked over to the table and couldn't figure out if she wanted to sit down or not.

"Kat, I'm not going to bite."

"Peet, ever since you made your little confession today, I've had one thing running through my mind. Why me? You could easily have any girl in the district, so why me?"

"Katniss, asking why you is like asking why the sky is blue. It's you because you jumble my mind and I never know exactly what to say. It's you because we laugh until we cry and our bellies ache until the next day. It's you because you've captivated me since I was 5. It's you because you're stubborn. It's you because you're fiercely loyal to everyone you care about. It's you because it's you, Katniss, and you're so unbelievably perfect and I don't know how I could ever measure up to you."

"Peeta, I'm not perfect. I'm socially awkward, a loudmouth, stubborn…"

"Katniss, nobody's perfect. You just happen to be perfect for me."

And at that point my mind went blank. Because her soft, supple lips were on mine, and I couldn't think straight. I never wanted that kiss to end, but then I did because she laid her forehead on mine and I heard the most perfect words come out of her mouth.

"Well, I just happen to think you're perfect for me too."

**Okie dokie. Well there's that. I'm so happy to be back writing. It does wonderful things for me. Hahahah.**

Read and Review pretty pretty please!

Peace, Love, and Catnip!  
Calleigh :)


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